Tag: Backyard chickens

Us humans have some very basic needs that we must tend to every day. We have to take care of our bodies, or our bodies will punish us with extreme and unrelenting pain. Air, water, food, rest, and exercise are the most basic of our needs. We are blessed to have lives in which most of us have easy access to these necessities at all times. Our society has developed to a point where a handful of farmers produce all of the foods for the rest of us. Farming technology has made mass production a way of life.

Farming technology has made mass production a way of life.

For all of our collective success, there have been casualties. Fruits and vegetables grown on large scale farms are selected from varieties that hold up well during transport instead of flavorful or healthy varieties. They are sprayed with synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers that may be even worse for our bodies than they are for the environment. Animals raised for meat, eggs, milk or other products are bred, fed, housed and slaughtered in horrendous conditions where they only survive because of the antibiotic injections which eventually lead to more powerful and resilient pathogens. Many organic alternatives at the store are still questionable and priced above what many of us can comfortably afford. How can we source healthful, flavorful, humane, and affordable foods?

Our answer is to produce as much of our own foods as possible. An organic vegetable garden fertilized with compost and manure produces vegetables with more nutrients from flavorful varieties that you harvest when they are mature, and last longer in the refrigerator without poisoning yourself and your family with chemicals. A small flock of hens can provide better eggs and entertainment at very little cost. Goats can easily provide your family with clean, fresh milk, yogurt, cheese and other dairy products for a small investment. If you find it to be more sensible to have your own source of meat for low cost than it is to pay and close a blind eye to the moral implications of industrial meat, rabbits are an easy way to satisfy your meat tooth.

This is providing your family with the best. This is life the way we were built to live it, and it’s all possible at any scale to fit your space and time constraints. If you are tired of filling your spare time with meaningless games and hobbies, tired of filling your body with empty calories that don’t give you satisfaction, and tired of feeling so detached from the earth, it is time to make a change. It is time to take control of your health. This is homesteading.

This is providing your family with the best.

Thank you for reading Part Two of our Profitable Garden Series. If you missed Part One, CLICK HERE.

May your days be filled with things that nurture your soul and fill your cup.
Sincerely,
Mat & Ann